Germany delivers IRIS-T air defense system, missiles, and air surveillance radar to Ukraine

Europe, News October 30, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Germany has delivered the third unit of the ground-based IRIS-T SLM air defense system to Ukraine. Berlin has provided Ukraine with the IRIS-T system, missiles, and air surveillance radar.

According to the German government, the third unit of the IRIS-T SLM air defense system has been transferred to Ukraine along with an unspecified number of additional missiles for the system and one unit of TRML-4D air surveillance radar.

Germany has already supplied two IRIS-T units to Ukraine, where they are mainly used to counter Russian missile and drone attacks. To strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, Berlin will provide another unit of the air defense system to Kyiv in the near future.

IRIS-T manufacturer Diehl’s Chief Program Officer Harald Buschek claimed in September 2023 that Ukraine had shot down more than 110 targets, most of these being cruise missiles such as the Kalibr, using the IRIS-T air defense system. Buschek said that the IRIS-T has an almost 100% success rate in Ukraine.

Last month German defense manufacturer Diehl Defense also announced its plans to increase the production of the IRIS-T air defense systems amid increasing weapons demand in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Diehl aims to build at least eight new systems by the end of 2025 and will produce three to four systems each year following that. The German defense firm also plans to increase the missile production for the IRIS-T system and is expected to produce 400 to 500 missiles each year from 2024.

IRIS-T air defense system

IRIS-T air defense system has a range of about 40 kilometers and 360-degree aerial attack detection capabilities. The defense system was first introduced in 2014. According to Diehl, the system is most effective as part of a “layered air defense,” combined with the U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 missile defense system, which has a higher altitude air defense system.

As a medium-range air defense system, the IRIS-T has its weaknesses against more powerful arms. The air defense system is powerless against Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as this threat requires a more powerful antidote, such as the U.S.-made Patriot system.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, only a few Western nations had purchased the system, reflecting a common trend after the Cold War to scale down air defenses believing the threat had largely diminished. However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the demand for air defense systems has seen a sharp increase.